McLaren to use hybrid tech

McLaren has advertised for an electric engineer to work on hybrid tech

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McLaren Automotive has dropped a further hint that hybrid technology will feature on its future supercars.

The firm is advertising for an electrical engineer to work on the “concept, design and development of the electrical package and wiring system for a hybrid electric vehicle”.

Full story: McLaren plans hybrid supercars

A McLaren spokesman wouldn’t confirm whether or not the advert meant it was planning on adding hybrid technology to its road cars.

The spokesman said: “Hybrid technology is something that we are looking at and assessing. It is something we are interested in.”

The company advertised for a senior engineer in powertrain hybrid technology in July of last year.

When queried at that stage, a McLaren spokesman said: “It [hybrid technology] is something we want as a forward-thinking, technology-driven company. We have been considering it for future projects.

“All the advert means is that we are looking for a senior engineer in powertrain hybrid technology. Read into it what you will.”

Full details, pics and videos of the McLaren MP4-12C

It appears that the Woking-based firm wants to develop its own full hybrid powertrains, which would go beyond more conventional and mainstream hybrid technologies such as stop-start, to compete with Ferrari and Lamborghini. Both Italian companies have confirmed hybrid powertrains are in development.

McLaren has recently borrowed £40m to build a new factory for its MP4-12C supercar and there have been reports of aggressive expansion in the next few years.

[quote Peter Cavellini]Or are they scared that Porsche is going to beat them too the punch to late they already have!, the 918 will and is light years ahead, and between the two?, i'd have the Porsche, surprise , surprise!. [/quote]

You'll possibly be able to have two 12Cs for the price of a single 918, and several years sooner. The real question is how the 918 will shape up against McLaren's flagship car, which is expected to be launched around the same time.

I wouldn't expect that car to be a hybrid, given that McLaren haven't demonstrated a working system yet and the flagship is supposedly being fast-tracked through development, but I doubt anyone dropping £300-400k on a car will be worried about petrol costs.